Pahrump!! RTA Round 7 @ Spring Mountain

On Friday, September 25th the Fontana Nissan Racing team headed to Pahrump Nevada to attend the RTA Round 7 at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch.

After a very early yet uneventful drive, the team spent Friday afternoon setting up the big top in the paddock area.  The 100+ degree temperatures were an indication of the expected weather for the entire weekend. Break out the SPF 100!!

Practice went smoothly Saturday, with the 350Z running the best it had run all year.  We had good balance on the Yokohama tires and the new Endless pads came in nicely. We are still amazed at how much more down force we are getting from the new louvered hood.

The GTR went well in practice running in the 2:32 range.  The GTR now sports a custom roll bar and much more driver friendly Sparco seats and belts.

Mike ran a few laps in the vintage racing Firebird, doing 300 foot long burn outs coming out of Spring Mountain’s tight corners. This spectacular car is always a fan favorite where ever it goes.

Sunday running the 350Z we continued to tune for the new tires.  We were able to run a 2:22.90 in the heat of the day, a whopping 10 second improvement over the previous RTA track record.  The turbo cars were able to turn up the boost and set some really fantastic times.  We continue to be the fastest naturally aspirated car in Red Line and probably the fastest 350Z in the country.

The GTR ran well but continued to have some heat issues that the 100+ degree heat certainly did not help.  Mike gets the GTR around awfully quickly and we continue to be the fastest and least modified GTR.

After all was said and done the Fontana Nissan 350Z finished 2nd in Unlimited Rear Wheel Drive and the GTR finished 5th in Modified All Wheel Drive. 

Next up will be some more minor tweeks to the 350Z and we will be off to RTA Round 8 in November at the Auto Club Speedway.  The big horsepower turbo cars are certainly going to put on a show at the Auto Club Speedway.  We will be showing what an N/A 350Z is capable of. Make sure to mark your calendars for RTA Round 8 November 14th and 15th. It will be a great event and we look forward to meeting everyone!!

Go to our website fontananissanracing.com for the full slideshow on the Gallery page!

 

Technorati Tags: Fontana Nissan Racing,Fontana Nissan,www.fontananissanparts.com,Nissan 350Z,Mike Cronin,Nissan GTR,Red Line Time Attack,RTA,Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch

High Ho, High Ho, it’s off to the dyno we go!!

The engine crew at Fontana Nissan Racing made a trip to the dyno at Aasco Performance last week to measure the performance of the new oil pan and pump set up developed for the Nissan 350Z racecar. Go to www.fontananissanracing.com for all the results!!!

Technorati Tags: Fontana Nissan Racing,Fontana Nissan,Fontana Nissan Performance Parts,Nissan 350Z,Dailey Engineering,Aasco Performance,RTA,Red Line Time Attack

Suspension Solutions for the Nissan 350Z

Don’t keep me in suspense! Now up in the Technical Corner is the answer to your 350Z suspension issues. Go to www.fontananissanracing.com for the latest updates.

Technorati Tags: Fontana Nissan Racing,Fontana Nissan,Nissan 350Z,Megan Racing,Mike Cronin,suspension,pick up points,half shafts,Red Line Time Attack,RTA,Fontana Nissan Performance Parts

Lose your gasoline habit and look good at the same time!!

Nissan has taken the wraps off of the new all electric zero emissions Leaf.

 

Go to http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/ for the full rundown on the technical details and any other questions you might have.

Nissan states that the car will handle  and accelerate like a V6 with a top speed of 90 mph.  Typical daily driving will get you 100 mile range.  Should be in some dealer showrooms by late 2010 and nationwide by 2012.

Interestingly, Red Line Time Attack has expressed interest in adding an alternative fuel class to the line up. Hmmmm.  I can see where this is going!

Technorati Tags: Fontana Nissan,Fontanan Nissan Racing,Nissan Leaf,Zero Emissions,Electric Car,Red Line Time Attack,RTA

Getting Rid of Nissan GTR High Temps and Trans Failures

As many of you know, in addition to running the 350Z in the Unlimited Class in Red Line Time Attack we also have run a GTR in the Modified Class.  One of the reasons that we are running the GTR is to incrementally make improvements to the GTR that will make it a better track day car. 

We also have in the shop a GTR that has run several track days and has many performance modifications.  This car has a broken transmission that we are repairing using parts from other broken transmissions.

When we have run the GTR in RTA Mike has had to cut his sessions short because he is getting high temperature warnings.  We decided to be proactive and address these temperature issues before they become a bigger problem.  We are installing Willall Racing cooler kits on the transmission and both differentials.  We are also installing the Willall extended engine oil pan.

The following photos show all four kits as we received them from Willall.  The kits seem complete and well thought out.

We will discuss the installations when those jobs are complete and will track the improvements next time we test the car.  All of these kits are available from Fontana Nissan Performance Parts. Contact Scott at www.fontananissanparts.com or 800 989-6173.

    Willall GTR Transmission Cooler Front Mount

Willall GTR Front Differential Cooler

Willall GTR Rear Differential Cooler

Willall GTR High Volume Oil Pan

Technorati Tags: Fontana Nissan Performance Parts,Fontana Nissan,Fontana Nissan Racing,Willall Racing,Nissan GTR,Red Line Time Attack,RTA,Nissan GTR overheating,GTR transmission cooler,GTR differential cooler,GTR oil pan

Dailey Engineering Oil Pump and Pan

Check out the new post in the Technical Corner of the website at www.fontananissanracing.com. We have upgraded the VQ35 with a state of the art Dailey Engineering dry sump oil pump and pan.

 

Technorati Tags: Fontana Nissan,Fontanan Nissan Racing,Nissan 350Z,Nissan,VQ35,Mike Cronin,Dailey Engineering,Nissan race car,Nissan Racing,Fontana Nissan Performance Parts

Engine Build Part 3 Now Up in the Tech Corner

Check out the final installment of the Engine Build series, "Top End and Final Assembly" now up on the Fontana Nissan Racing website's Technical Corner.

Check back often. Our next series will be on Racecar Suspensions.